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Asteroid Near-Earth

2017 EL

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(2017 EL)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.022 AU
True anomaly
209.41°
Distance from Earth
2.01 AU
As of
19 October 2026

Two-body Kepler propagation — accurate to ~0.1% for major planets over decades, less so for highly-perturbed bodies. Use JPL Horizons for high precision.

Sun Earth — 0.996 AU from the Sun Earth 2017 EL — 1.022 AU from the Sun 2017 EL
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2017 EL is 2.01 AU from Earth today (16.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 51m 42s
Declination
-14° 40′ 13″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
2.01 AU
Elongation from the Sun
5.09° — too close to the Sun to observe

Visible from both hemispheres.

From your location

See how high it is right now, whether it is up after civil twilight, and when it rises and sets where you are.

How do I find my coordinates?

Google Maps on a computer

  1. Right-click the spot where you'll be observing.
  2. The first line of the menu is the coordinates, e.g. 51.50722, -0.12758 — click it and they're copied.
  3. Paste them above.

Google Maps on a phone

  1. Press and hold the spot to drop a pin.
  2. The coordinates appear in the search bar (or on the pin's card) — tap to copy, then paste above.

A full Google Maps link works too, but the short maps.app.goo.gl share links don't carry coordinates — copy the numbers instead. We round to about a kilometre; that's all the sky calculation needs.

Know your what3words address? Paste it, e.g. ///filled.count.soap. This is optional — the three words are sent to what3words to convert them, and we don't store the address or the result.

Your location stays in your browser and is sent only for this calculation. Using a what3words address is optional; if you do, the three words go to what3words to be converted and we don't record them. Set a location first, then you can save an email alert for this object. See our privacy policy.

Two-body approximation, good to about a degree for the planets — enough to find the constellation and know whether it is up.

Orbital elements

Semi-major axis
0.853 AU
Eccentricity
0.2509
Inclination
8.39°
Orbital period
287.6 days
Perihelion
0.639 AU
Aphelion
1.067 AU
Longitude of ascending node
350.78°
Argument of periapsis
14.73°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 19.3 LD
0.0495 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.878

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
50
Data arc
32 days
First observed
2 March 2017
Last observed
3 April 2017
Residual RMS
0.44 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
25.1

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 82 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2017 EL at 2028-02-17 17:56 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-02-17 17:56 UTC close approach of 2017 EL. Catalogue miss distance 40.1 LD · 1.54 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-02-14 to 2028-02-20, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. At closest approach the object is north of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 40.1 LD · 1.54 × 10⁷ km 2028-02-17 17:56 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-02-17 17:56 UTC close approach of 2017 EL. Catalogue miss distance 40.1 LD · 1.54 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-02-14 to 2028-02-20, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. At closest approach the object is north of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

JPL Horizons

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2028-02-17 17:56:00 Earth 0.103 AU 40.1 LD 9.1 km/s
2028-07-28 10:21:00 Earth 0.3183 AU 123.9 LD 9.3 km/s
2031-12-01 12:14:00 Earth 0.2998 AU 116.7 LD 7.4 km/s
2032-04-18 13:25:00 Earth 0.104 AU 40.5 LD 7 km/s
2034-04-11 23:16:00 Venus 0.1138 AU 44.3 LD 10.1 km/s
2035-10-07 13:24:00 Earth 0.3625 AU 141.1 LD 12.8 km/s
2036-04-22 15:25:00 Earth 0.3886 AU 151.2 LD 17.8 km/s
2039-02-18 18:53:00 Earth 0.2484 AU 96.7 LD 13.9 km/s
2039-08-21 08:19:00 Earth 0.3472 AU 135.1 LD 11.6 km/s
2047-04-27 10:53:00 Earth 0.2448 AU 95.3 LD 12.8 km/s

Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.

Sources